Skip to main content
NTv Online

World

World
  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Asia Pacific
  • Europe
  • Mid East
  • More
  • Offbeat
  • South & Central Asia
  • Viral
  • Bangla Version
  • Archive
  • Bangladesh
  • World
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Business
  • Comment
  • Education
  • Life
  • Health
  • Art & Culture
  • Election
  • বাংলা
  • Bangladesh
  • World
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Business
  • Comment
  • Education
  • Life
  • Health
  • Art & Culture
  • Election
  • বাংলা
  • Bangla Version
  • Archive
Follow
  • World
AFP
28 October, 2016, 22:42
Update: 28 October, 2016, 22:42
More News
Hamas to keep finger on trigger after ceasefire, says official
Iran TV: 35 killed in stampede at funeral for slain general
Iran abandons nuclear limits after US killing
Iran abandons nuclear limits after US killing
Oil price jumps on fear of Iranian retaliation against US

Yemen rebels 'fired missile towards Mecca'

AFP
28 October, 2016, 22:42
Update: 28 October, 2016, 22:42

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Yemeni rebels have launched one of their longest-range strikes against Saudi Arabia, firing a ballistic missile that was shot down near the holy city of Mecca, the Saudi-led coalition fighting them said Friday.

But the rebels insisted that the missile had targeted Jeddah, the Red Sea city in the sprawling Mecca region, and not the holy Muslim city.

The coalition has been carrying out a bombing campaign against the rebels since March last year and there have been rebel strikes towards the bases from which the coalition mounts air raids.

Saudi Arabia has deployed Patriot missiles to intercept the rebel fire.

Huthi rebels launched the missile "toward the Mecca area" on Thursday evening from their Saada province stronghold just across the border, a coalition statement said.

"The air defence was able to intercept and destroyed it about 65 kilometres (40 miles) from Mecca without any damage."

The rebels' sabanews website said their ballistic missile targeted the international airport in Jeddah.

Islam's holiest sites are located in Mecca and Medina.

The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council condemned the attack which it described as "clear evidence" that the rebels are not willing to accept a political solution to Yemen's 19-month-old conflict.

The United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan went further, criticising Iran for the attack.

"The Iranian regime backs a terrorist group that fires its rockets on Mecca... Is this an Islamic regime as it claims to be?" he wrote on Twitter.

Qatar called the attack "a provocation to the feelings of millions of Muslims worldwide".

All GCC states, apart from Oman, are members of the Saudi-led coalition. The UAE itself is a major pillar of the Sunni alliance.

The coalition as well as the United States accuse Shiite-dominated Iran of arming the rebels, a charge denied by Tehran.

The Huthi rebels are a minority group that belong to the Zaidi sect of Shiite Islam. They fought six wars against Yemen's government between 2004 and 2010.

In a statement on sabanews.net, Huthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam accused Saudi Arabia of "political nonsense".

"The Saudi regime which claims it intercepted the missile 65 kilometres away from Mecca which is holy and precious to the hearts of every Yemeni and Muslim could have avoided such media platitude and political nonsense by directly mentioning the city of Jeddah where a military target for the 'Burkan 1' missile lies on its northern outskirts," said Abdulsalam.

"Hiding behind holy sites is... a repugnant attempt to instigate the feelings of Muslims," he said.

Unless the coalition ends its "aggression, lifts the blockade, and seeks peace", the rebels "have the right to confront the aggressors in all legitimate and rightful means," Abdulsalam added.

- Second long-range strike -

Mecca lies more than 500 kilometres (more than 300 miles) from the border.

It is the second time this month that the rebels have fired a missile of that range.

On October 9, the coalition said it had intercepted a missile near Taif, the site of a Saudi airbase some 65 kilometres (40 miles) from Mecca. 

That launch came a day after a coalition air strike killed more than 140 people attending a wake for the father of a rebel leader in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, prompting threats of revenge.

In a separate incident on Thursday, rebel fire hit a two-storey residential building in the Saudi border district of Jazan without causing casualties, the civil defence agency said.

Most Read
  1. WHO site shows how they refuse to acknowledge scientific evidence on vaping
  2. Tholos Foundation urges Bangladesh govt not to ban e-cigarettes
  3. India bans service charge at hotels and restaurants
  4. Bangladesh and Australia working towards key trade partners
  5. Bigger and better Mother Language Day Walk
  6. Islamic State loses second leader in two years
Most Read
  1. WHO site shows how they refuse to acknowledge scientific evidence on vaping
  2. Tholos Foundation urges Bangladesh govt not to ban e-cigarettes
  3. India bans service charge at hotels and restaurants
  4. Bangladesh and Australia working towards key trade partners
  5. Bigger and better Mother Language Day Walk
  6. Islamic State loses second leader in two years

Follow Us

Alhaj Mohammad Mosaddak Ali

Chairman & Managing Director

NTV Online, BSEC Building (Level-8), 102 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215 Telephone: +880255012281 up to 5, Fax: +880255012286 up to 7

Browse by Category

  • About NTV
  • NTV Programmes
  • Advertisement
  • Web Mail
  • NTV FTV
  • Satellite Downlink
  • Europe Subscription
  • USA Subscription
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact

Our Newsletter

To stay on top of the ever-changing world of business, subscribe now to our newsletters.

* We hate spam as much as you do

Alhaj Mohammad Mosaddak Ali

Chairman & Managing Director

NTV Online, BSEC Building (Level-8), 102 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215 Telephone: +880255012281 up to 5, Fax: +880255012286 up to 7

Reproduction of any content, news or article published on this website is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved